How Much Laminate or Vinyl Plank Flooring Do I Need?

Measure the floor area, add 10% for cuts (15% for diagonal or herringbone), and divide by the coverage on the box. A 12 × 12 ft bedroom (144 sq ft) needs 8 boxes of 20 sq ft laid straight. For a floating laminate floor you'll also need underlayment, unless the planks have it attached: about one 100 sq ft roll per 100 sq ft, laid edge to edge. This guide covers both laminate and luxury vinyl plank (LVP), with charts by room size and box size.

Laminate and vinyl plank by room size

Boxes of 20 sq ft, our calculator's default, with 10% waste for a straight lay and 15% for herringbone or diagonal. Underlayment rolls at 100 sq ft each, laid butted with no overlap.

Laminate or vinyl plank boxes by room size (20 sq ft boxes)
Room	Floor area	Boxes, straight (10%)	Boxes, herringbone (15%)	Underlayment rolls
10 × 10 ft	100 sq ft	6	6	1
10 × 12 ft	120 sq ft	7	7	2
12 × 12 ft	144 sq ft	8	9	2
12 × 14 ft	168 sq ft	10	10	2
12 × 16 ft	192 sq ft	11	12	2
14 × 16 ft	224 sq ft	13	13	3
15 × 20 ft	300 sq ft	17	18	3
20 × 20 ft	400 sq ft	22	23	4

Box sizes vary a lot between products, so the chart is a starting point. The next table shows how much the box size changes the count.

How much does a box of laminate cover?

The coverage is printed on every box, usually in square feet in the US and square metres elsewhere. It depends on plank size and thickness: thicker planks mean fewer per box. Here's how the box count changes for three room sizes, at 10% waste:

Boxes needed by box coverage (straight lay, 10%)
Box covers	12 × 12 ft	12 × 16 ft	15 × 20 ft
16 sq ft	10	14	21
18 sq ft	9	12	19
20 sq ft	8	11	17
22 sq ft	8	10	15
24 sq ft	7	9	14

Always use the figure on the box you're buying. A difference of 2 sq ft per box adds a box or two on a big room.

How much extra should I buy?

Every room needs cuts at the walls, around door frames and at the end of each row. The allowances below are what flooring makers and installers publish, and what our flooring calculator uses:

Waste allowance by layout
Layout	Allowance
Straight lay	10%
Diagonal (45°)	15%
Herringbone or chevron	15%

Add a little more for rooms with lots of corners, closets or a fireplace, and keep a full box or two after the job for repairs. Products get discontinued, and a matching plank years later can be hard to find.

Do I need underlayment?

For laminate, yes, unless the planks have a pad attached. Pergo's instructions say planks without attached underlayment go over "a single layer of underlayment appropriate for laminate floors". Underlayment cushions the floor, reduces noise and, in many products, includes a moisture barrier.

For vinyl plank, many rigid-core products have a pad attached and need nothing else; adding a second layer can void the warranty. Check the plank's installation guide before buying any.

Roll sizes: common rolls cover 100 sq ft. FloorMuffler's, for example, is 48 in wide and 25 ft long, 2 mm thick. QuietWalk says its rolls are cut to a minimum of 100 sq ft.
Seams: QuietWalk says seams should be butted together flush, not overlapped, and taped. Since there's no overlap, the rolls cover very close to their stated area; buy rolls for the floor area and round up.
At the walls: QuietWalk says to keep the underlayment ½ to ¾ in away from the wall.

Expansion gap: how much space at the walls?

Floating floors move with temperature and humidity, so they need a gap at every wall and fixed object, covered by baseboard or quarter round.

Expansion gap at the walls (check your product)
Product	Gap	Source
Pergo XP laminate	⅜ in on all sides and around pipes	Pergo installation instructions
MSI Everlife vinyl plank	¼ in along all walls	MSI installation instructions

The gap doesn't change how much flooring you buy (you measure wall to wall), but it does mean your trim has to cover it: ⅜ in gaps need trim that reaches at least that far.

Transitions and big rooms

Laminate can't run unbroken forever. Pergo's instructions require T-moldings in rooms 40 ft (12.2 m) or longer in either direction. Installers also commonly put a T-molding at each doorway between rooms, so each room's floor can move on its own. Count:

T-moldings for doorways where the same floor continues.
Reducers where the floor meets a lower surface, such as vinyl or concrete.
End caps or thresholds at sliding doors and fireplaces.
Quarter round or new baseboard: measure the room's perimeter, minus doorways.

Laminate vs vinyl plank: does it change how much to buy?

Not the area: both are measured the same way, with the same waste allowances. The differences are in the extras. Laminate usually needs separate underlayment and a wider expansion gap (⅜ in on Pergo XP); many vinyl planks have the pad built in and need ¼ in (MSI). Vinyl plank is the usual pick for bathrooms, kitchens and basements because it stands up to water; laminate makers set their own limits on wet areas, so read the warranty.

Worked example: a bedroom with a closet and hall

Bedroom 12 × 14 ft = 168 sq ft; closet 3 × 4 ft = 12 sq ft; hall 4 × 8 ft = 32 sq ft. Total 212 sq ft.
Add 10% for a straight lay: 212 × 1.1 = 233.2 sq ft.
The chosen laminate comes in boxes of 22.5 sq ft: 233.2 ÷ 22.5 = 10.36, so buy 11 boxes.
Underlayment: 212 sq ft ÷ 100 = 2.12, so 3 rolls.
Trim: one T-molding at the bedroom door, plus quarter round for the perimeter.

Quick answers

How many boxes of laminate for 500 sq ft?

500 sq ft + 10% = 550 sq ft. That's 28 boxes of 20 sq ft or 25 boxes of 22 sq ft, laid straight, plus 5 rolls of underlayment.

How much flooring do I need for 1,000 sq ft?

1,100 sq ft with a straight lay, or 1,150 sq ft for herringbone: 55 boxes of 20 sq ft straight, 58 for herringbone. Over a whole floor, check that all the boxes come from the same production run; the lot number is printed on the box.

Should I buy an extra box?

The 10% allowance covers cuts. A spare box on top of that is cheap insurance for repairs later, when the same product may no longer be sold. Many stores take back unopened boxes; check the return policy before you buy.

Do I subtract closets and alcoves?

No: add them. Measure every space the floor runs into, including closets, and add them to the total. Only leave out areas you aren't flooring, such as under fitted kitchen cabinets.

Metric: laminate packs by room size

In the UK, Canada and Australia, packs are labelled in square metres, often around 1.8–2.2 m². With 10% waste:

Laminate packs by floor area (10% waste)
Floor area	2.0 m² packs	2.2 m² packs	1.8 m² packs
10 m²	6	5	7
12 m²	7	6	8
15 m²	9	8	10
20 m²	11	10	13
25 m²	14	13	16
30 m²	17	15	19

How to measure

Measure each room wall to wall at the widest points, ignoring the expansion gap.
Split L-shaped rooms into rectangles and add them. Include closets and alcoves you're flooring.
Don't subtract for kitchen islands or built-in cabinets unless they're large; the cuts around them use material anyway.
Our guide on how many boxes of flooring you need has more measuring tips and a chart for tile and engineered wood too.

Common mistakes

Buying the exact area. Without 10% for cuts, you'll be a box short, and the next batch may not match.
Doubling up underlayment. Planks with an attached pad usually shouldn't go over another pad. Check the product guide.
Overlapping underlayment seams. Overlaps leave a ridge under the floor. Butt and tape them.
Skipping acclimation. Pergo says to acclimate unopened boxes before installing (its diagram shows 48 hours at 60–85 °F). Some vinyl planks don't need it under normal conditions (MSI); follow your product.
Forgetting the trims. T-moldings, reducers and quarter round are often bought last and can hold up the finish.